Kyrgios to lead Australia in Davis Cup

Rising teenager Nick Kyrgios is nervous but confident he's up to the task of leading Australia into battle against Davis Cup heavyweights France.

La Roche-sur-Yon, France, 31 January 2014 | AAP

Rising teenager Nick Kyrgios is nervous but confident he’s up to the task of leading Australia into battle against Davis Cup heavyweights France.

The 18-year-old faces the biggest challenge of his career so far after being drawn to open the best-of-five World Group tie against French world No.9 Richard Gasquet on Friday (2330 AEDT).

Veteran Lleyton Hewitt will face tenth-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second singles match, with France overwhelming favourites for the the indoor claycourt tie in the western French town of La Roche sur Yon.

An injury to Bernard Tomic opened the selection door for Kyrgios and Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter is confident he will handle the occasion.

Kyrgios has already shown a flair for the big stage, winning his first senior Grand Slam match at last year’s French Open and reaching the second round of this month’s Australian Open before going down in five sets to 27th seed Benoit Paire.

The big-serving teenager was also part of last year’s World Group playoff win over Poland in Warsaw, but feels this is his biggest test yet.